Easing out of the SUV, he shut the door and turned to find Noah standing right behind him. The mass of bulk nowhere to be found.
“Hi,” Mac said, sounding stupid, with a stupid smile to go along with it. Noah must not have thought him stupid, because the man slipped an arm around his waist. Mac leaned closer. The man always smelled like peppermint and honey, and Mac breathed in deeply. “Who was that?”
“That was Storm,” the man said, glancing to where the hulk had disappeared. “Don’t mind him, he’s not domesticated.”
“Storm?”
“Not his real name, obviously,” Noah said. “We all have code names we earned over time.” It was the most Noah had ever spoken to him about his team.
“How many of you are there?”
“Eight.”
When the man didn’t elaborate, Mac drew him close and smiled into Noah’s hair. “I missed you.”
“It’s only been an hour,” Noah teased, and Mac liked it.
“Hey, love birds,” Jake joked, making Mac scowl.
Noah chuckled and slipped his arm from around his waist as they moved toward the small homeless community. Mac immediately missed the man’s warmth.
“So, you two heard about the attack here today.” Noah dropped into step between them.
“Yeah, there’s actually three people listed as homeless on Manning’s list, but only one is here in San Diego. What are the chances this Barnes woman is here?”
“I’d say the chances are good.” Jake pointed.
The scene near the entrance was an unorganized mess; police had areas roped off, and people were sitting on the curb. Some were cuffed with zip-ties, and others were asked to just have a seat and wait. The area smelled rank, and Mac saw Jake cover his nose.
The small homeless city was a hodgepodge of color. Tarps and whatever material could be used for shelter was draped over makeshift structures. The camp stank of lingering feces and rotten food, and garbage and liquor bottles littered the area. A few seniors wearing layered clothing stood huddled around a fire contained inside a metal trash can, hands extended over the fire’s warmth. The smell was thick with smoke and body odor.
“Hey Mac, how’s it going?” Detective Samuel Gutierrez headed his way. Mac smiled at Samuel and shook the man’s hand. They’d met last year working a case when the SDPD had unknowingly come across a federal witness.
“Hey Sam.” Mac smiled. “This is Noah, he’s assisting on a case I’m working.”
“It sure is a shitstorm,” Sam said, shaking Noah’s hand. “Might be the same guys that hit the tent city over a mile away.”
“How many have they hit?”
“This is the second site, not sure what’s going on. Usually, we have scuffles and fights here, but nothing like this.”
“You have any suspects?” Noah asked.
“No,” Sam replied, looking at his clipboard. “But a Martha Barnes is in protective custody.” Sam jerked his thumb towards an SUV marked FBI on the side. “Feds have been here twenty minutes.”
“What happened?” Mac asked. Kane had the list, and it sounded like his team was working their part quickly. They all were, only some of the people on the list were difficult to track down.
“Well, from what we can tell, it might have been a gang.” Sam’s hand swept the crowd. “Woke people out of a dead sleep.” Sam lowered his voice so only they could hear. “The locals beat the men off. Said there were five of them. We’ve had several people describe one male; mid-fifties, large, muscled, dark crewcut, wearing a business suit. Stood there while the other men harassed the camp.”
Noah drew in a quick breath and coughed lightly into his hand. Mac turned and handed him the coffee cup. It was still warm. Noah closed his hands around the cup and took a sip before passing it back with a grateful nod. Mac casually brushed the hair from Noah’s shoulder.
“Any fatalities?” Mac inquired, looking down the line of people sitting on the curb.
“No. Why the interest?” Sam gave him a puzzled look. “Not usually the US Marshals thing. You guys lose a witness?” the man joked with a whisper.
“No, we’re looking for a fugitive,” Mac said, finishing the cooling coffee. “It was the man you just described.”
“Oh yeah? Crap!” Sam frowned. “I’ll definitely put the word out.” The man turned when one of his officers called to him. “Gotta go, take care, Mac. Nice to meet you, Noah.”
“You too,” Noah said.
“See you, Sam.” Mac tossed his cup into the trash and waived.
“Some fucked-up shit went down,” Jake said, coming back from speaking with people. The man blew on his hands, trying to keep warm in the early morning weather.
“Tell me what you learned.”
“People said there was an altercation. Tents tore up, and some of the homeless roughed up.”
They reached the FBI SUV. One female FBI agent stood next to two women who were arranging scavenged items in a shopping cart. One woman hurried away with a frightened look, but the other woman wearing bulky clothing with her cracked hands wrapped around the handle of the cart gave them a tight smile. “Marshals, I told the FBI everything.”
“Are you Martha Barnes?” Noah gently asked the woman.
“I’m Martha.” Her tired blue eyes narrowed at Noah.
“Hi, ma’am,” Mac said, smiling at the woman. What the fuck did Manning have on Martha Barnes that would put her on his list? He wondered if Noah was thinking the same thing.
She cackled. “Ma’am? I ain’t never been called that. Call me Martha.”
“Martha, we’re looking for someone,” Mac said. Reaching for his wallet, he slipped the woman the money inside. It wouldn’t make a difference to the homeless crisis in San Diego, but it might help Martha.
“Thank you, Marshal,” Martha said, eyeing the badge hanging around Mac’s neck before shoving the money beneath her shirt.
“We’re looking for a man.” Mac gave a description of Manning to the woman.
“I saw him.” The woman glanced around, then whispered, “Real mean one, ya know? Short hair, ugly face.” She pointed toward the main area. “Tore up some people’s homes. It ain’t right, ya know?”
“What did he want?” Noah asked.
“I don’t know.” The woman shrugged evasively.
“So you don’t do business with Terrance Manning?” Mac asked gently.
When Martha looked away, Mac had to wonder what the woman was hiding.
“Please, Martha, if you know anything,” Noah gently urged.
“I carry drugs for him.” Her voice sounded small, and she hugged her arms around herself.
“For Manning?” Mac probed gently to make sure they were talking about the same person.
“Yeah, I have to deal to keep the peace with him.” She gazed at him imploringly. “I don’t want to, but it’s just easier. But the answer to your question is, yes, he was looking for me. But he also wanted to make sure that nobody talked to the police. I do a lot of business for him.”
Mac nodded. That was the reason Manning probably left her alive. It sickened him that Manning had his thugs rough these people up. People had it bad enough out here.
“Thank you, Martha.” Mac smiled. “They are going to put you in protective custody until we can catch Terrance Manning.”
Martha shook her head. “I’m better out here.” She waived her hand around. “Out here, I can disappear.”
Mac
Finding Noah had been the easy part, watching him smile at a good-looking man with tattoo sleeves on both arms, not so much. Mac walked across the outdoor mini-mall toward his wayward lover.
Lover…they were lovers. It felt so good to finally admit it. The saying was true. The heart wants what it wants and fuck if anything got in Mac’s way. Mac paused when he reached the sidewalk and leaned against one of the large pillars that graced the outdoor mall’s entrance.
Like a homing beacon, Noah must have sensed him from across the crowded outdoor seati
ng because the man’s head lifted and his eyes swept the area.
Mac imagined Noah stayed aware at all times, and he was impressed by his love’s diligence to stay safe.
The moment those whiskey eyes landed on him, Mac felt something warm punch into his chest just knowing that the beautiful, blond man was with him. Not only beautiful on the outside, but caring within.
It took every ounce of his control to stay casually slouched. He wanted to lunge across the brick square, pound on his chest, and jerk Noah into his arms after he pounded tattoo guy to mulch.
The man sitting next to Noah glanced over, and Mac gave him a death stare; the satisfaction he felt when the stranger swallowed and glanced quickly away was no small thing.
Mac groaned inwardly. This was only the beginning. He was, heart and soul, in all the way with Noah. It didn’t matter if there was heartache and trouble ahead, they would get through it together.
And holy hell if he gave a shit about unforeseen problems right now because Noah was walking toward him with those long legs and lean hips. All Mac wanted to do was drag him close and mark his territory.
“Hey,” Noah said, smiling wide when he reached Mac.
“Hey,” Mac all but growled. “Who’s that?”
Frustratingly, Noah’s eyes sparkled and then he smirked, actually fucking smirked. “Oh, him? He’s just an informant that Bear and Reboot thought I might want to question.”
“Bear and Reboot?” Mac was at a loss.
“Mamma Bear, that’s Allison.”
Mac nodded, he could see the sleek badass, take-no-shit woman as a Momma Bear. “And Reboot?”
“That’s Seth.” Noah chuckled, then moved closer to him, but they had as of yet to touch each other.
“Were you jealous?” Noah pried, obviously picking up on his irritation.
Mac felt something hot swirl in the pit of his stomach when anger, need, and laughter threatened all at once. The little shit knew what he was doing to him. “I don’t share, Noah. If that’s what you want, then tell me now,” Mac said, his voice all raspy and rough. Noah went alpha on him and reached out and gripped the edges of his jacket.
“Oh, hell no,” the man bit out, eyes burning into his. “I don’t share either.”
A smile worked at the corner of Mac’s mouth. “Is that right?”
“Mmhmm.” Noah crowded into his space. “Yeah, that’s a fact. I can show you right now.” Laughter laced the suggestive words.
“In public?” Mac arched a brow, happiness taking up residence inside.
“I’m sure we can find a dark corner,” Noah flirted, chuckling against his jaw.
Mac couldn’t help it. He laughed and pulled Noah close. “You’re going to be my downfall.”
“I hope I’m going to be your uprising.” The man’s hands skimmed down between them, then over the front of Mac’s pants, finding his plumped-up dick.
“Behave,” Mac groaned, lifting Noah’s wandering hands and bringing them to his lips.
“So…” Allison Dupont’s voice cut through Mac’s lust. “I see you found what you were looking for, Marshal.”
“That I did, Momma Bear.” Mac returned the woman’s smirk and slipped his arm around Noah. Allison didn’t appear disturbed at all by Mac’s knowledge of her code name.
“Ally’s informant might have a lead on Manning,” Noah stated, and Mac felt every muscle in his body tense. Casually, he glanced around, but the tattooed guy had disappeared.
“Might?” Mac arched a brow at Allison.
“That’s right,” Allison said with a serious look. She reached out a hand to a man Mac had noticed standing off to the side. “This is Reboot Hell. He’s here to help.”
“Hello.” The man smiled. The younger man’s eyes were a vivid, bright green that sparkled as if he found something funny that the rest of the world didn’t. The guy was around Noah’s age and stood about six feet, Mac guessed. Seth was slim and very good looking with a mess of dark, almost black curls falling into his eyes.
“Mac Mackenzie.” He introduced himself and shook the man’s proffered hand.
“Seth O’Leary,” the man returned, and then turned when Allison gently tugged on his sleeve.
They turned as a group and entered the pizza joint’s lower level. Tables and chairs littered the area, but a booth in the back was secluded, and Allison headed for that. They slid in, Allison and Seth on one side and Mac and Noah on the other. The waitress came and took their order, then left, leaving them alone.
“This informant, does he work for Manning?” Mac cut right to the chase. He didn’t have time for secrecy when it came to Manning. He wanted the guy caught yesterday.
“Yes and no,” Noah spoke up. “From what we can tell, Guy Frazer, that’s the informant, is working for Manning on a trial basis,” Noah said.
“So, if Manning is recruiting, chances are he’s trying to get back in business,” Seth added.
Mac rubbed his chin. “And how is Frazer going to help?”
“Frazer is going through the initiation process as a possible replacement for Stevenson,” Allison said quietly.
Mac drew in a breath and met Noah’s gaze when the man laced their fingers together. “How did you find Frazer?”
Seth jumped in. “We’ve had eyes on four potential recruits. Someone taking over for Stevenson was no small feat. Manning always hires the best. It just took staking out the competition and waiting for Manning to approach one of them,” the dark-haired man finished, typing furiously into his laptop.
“Wait, he approached this guy, and you didn’t pick Manning up?” Mac demanded.
“Easy there, pal, it was all done electronically.” Allison glared at him. Seth snickered.
Mac narrowed his eyes at her.
“It makes sense, Marshal. Everything is done electronically now. They probably had a few Skype calls, discussed business. Of course, Frazer’s reputation proceeded him,” Seth offered.
“You don’t think Manning suspects or had your informant followed here?” Mac charged, glaring at them.
“No, not at all,” Allison retorted. Seth had the good sense to stop smiling and go back to his laptop. “We are very good at what we do, Marshal.”
Mac shook his head. It was a stupid plan, and one that could have gotten Noah killed. “That’s a dangerous game Frazer’s attempting, playing both sides,” Mac said, glancing around. Manning’s men could be coming right the fuck now.
“Calm down, Marshal, we have men staking out this place in the event Manning shows up,” Seth chimed in, looking up from his keyboard.
“You should have said something to me, we could have helped,” Mac growled, feeling Noah squeeze his hand.
“Mac, Stefano wants Manning alive,” Noah added, jumping back into the conversation.
“And you?” Mac asked. He wanted the guy dead, but that wasn’t the way it worked. He upheld the law, not broke it.
“I want him dead. But then we won’t know every place he operates if we kill him.” Noah’s tone turned hard. “Stefano suspects that if Manning gets arrested on American soil and resists, it would become suicide by cop.”
“That’s bullshit,” Mac snapped. “We don’t kill everyone that resists arrest.” Mac gnashed his teeth, wishing he had brought his Tums.
“Right.” Allison snapped her fingers, her tone filled with sarcasm. “And if he does resist, you’re not going to shoot him in the head?”
Mac narrowed his eyes at her, but she just arched one sleek, dark eyebrow. She was fucking right, and he knew it. If Manning tried anything, the guy was as good as dead. Sighing, he eased back in his seat as their pizzas and sodas were placed on the table. For a few moments, nobody spoke, content to eat and drink.
“I’ve contacted your Kane Quintana,” Seth said, surprising Mac.
“Kane, what for?” Mac asked around a bite of pizza.
“He’s going to setup a joint task force with your Captain Scott Buller.” Seth looked up briefly, and then went back to
typing. “Dead or alive, either way, we will apprehend Manning.”
“When was this?” And why the hell were they keeping him out of it? Mac removed his hand from Noah’s, feeling his blood pressure go up.
“Hey.” Noah frowned, partially turning in the booth to face him. “They just made the call about half an hour ago. We told Buller and Quintana that we’d fill you in. That’s when I sent you the text to meet me here. Hey, this is what our team was created for,” Noah said, relinking their fingers.
Mac took a deep breath and nodded. “So, what’s the plan?” he asked, and squeezed Noah’s hand.
Noah
They hadn’t created a solid plan yet, but with a cross-agency task force and Phoenix on the job, Noah knew it would only be a matter of time.
Before they parted ways, Noah managed a word with Seth.
“Talk to Stefano?”
“You know he pulled me off my target to come here and help, right?” Seth looked at him curiously.
“I figured that. Did you get anything?” Noah asked in a low voice. The sooner Seth located Yakov Lakhonin, the better.
“Nothing, but I’ll find him after we wrap this up,” Seth replied just as low. “You can bet your ass I will.”
“Hurry up. It’s cold,” Allison called out, standing near the car. Meeting Allison here had been a surprise. He’d left her after the gala. She told him that Stefano pulled her from the senator and grouped her with him and Seth to catch Manning. Noah had no doubts the rest of the team was close by.
“Gotta go.” Seth waggled his eyebrows and gave Noah a hug.
Noah returned the hug and then waved at Allison. He watched until they drove away before turning to a waiting Mac.
Noah shut the door of the dishwasher and hit the start button. The safe house was quiet, but his thoughts weren’t. He hoped Frazer would come through with the setup to apprehend Manning. He planned on bringing the fight to the drug lord and not the other way around. The only thing Noah had was the element of surprise on his side. It was more important than ever to keep Manning in the dark about what he was capable of.
Ricochet (Out for Justice Book 1) Page 21